FAA Instrument Rating Airplane (IRA)Weather and Weather ServicesEasy
A METAR reads: KABC 121853Z 18012KT 3SM BR OVC008 22/20 A2992. What is the reported ceiling?
- A800 feet AGL
- BThere is no ceiling reported
- C1200 feet AGL
- D300 feet AGL
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. 800 feet AGL
A ceiling is defined as the height of the lowest broken or overcast layer, or vertical visibility into an obscuration. OVC008 indicates an overcast layer at 800 feet AGL, which is the reported ceiling.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. An overcast layer is explicitly reported, so a ceiling does exist.
- C. 1200 does not appear in the METAR string.
- D. 300 is not represented anywhere in this report.
METAR Ceiling
The ceiling is the height AGL of the lowest layer reported as broken (BKN) or overcast (OVC), or the vertical visibility if the sky is obscured.
- Sky cover codes: FEW, SCT, BKN, OVC, VV
- Cloud heights in METAR are reported in hundreds of feet AGL
- Only BKN, OVC, or VV layers count as a ceiling
Memory trick: Few Scattered Broken Overcast — only Broken and Overcast Block the sky enough to be a Ceiling